Wednesday, 21 November 2018

You may think that conspiracy theories only happen in the movies, right? Well, most of the time it does but who says it can’t happen in real life too. You’d be surprised how more colorful and exciting true-to-life stories are than those works of fiction. Let’s just take for instance the last US election wherein the citizens of this land elected Donald Trump to the highest position in the country, the President of the United States of America. For someone who hasn’t served in public office at all, this is an astonishing feat and suffice it to say that his candidacy is also just as filled with fanfare and so many scandals.

The resurfacing of the issue on missing servers among others has been brought up recently. This is most likely related to the hacking of Russian Intelligence officers on the very same missing DNC servers on that fateful election that is arguably one of the most intense this nation has ever witnessed. It has segregated people into political parties: whether you are a Democrat or a Republican supporter. What’s concerning in this whole picture is the fact that sensitive channels like these apparently can be broken and hacked is really alarming. It may be just another campaign strategy for some but this is a big concern especially that we practically rely on the web and on the many tech contrivances we own on a lot of things.

THE DNC COMPUTER SERVER

"Where is the server, I wanna know, where is the server? And what is the server saying?" Trump asked Monday during a joint news conference in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We have groups wondering why the FBI never took the server, why haven't they taken the server?" Trump added. "Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee? I've been wondering that."

It is disconcerting to find out that scandals like this can happen to the government and on popular people, meaning it can happen to everyone else. Any computer hardware can be hacked and your data can be stolen and used by others without you knowing. Imagine how many of your sensitive data is at risk if you don’t do something about it. Even backing up your data won’t be sufficient because data can be stolen and used in a variety of ways without your consent. Installing firewalls or antivirus won’t stand a chance against persistent bugs. Even President Donald Trump claims to have no knowledge about these servers yet perhaps the damage has said and done.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment confirms previous findings from the U.S. intelligence community. In April 2016, Russian intelligence officials installed spying software on the computer network of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which works to elect members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The hack in turn allowed them access to 33 Democratic National Committee computers. The emails obtained through the hack were pushed out on social media beginning in June 2016, and Wikileaks soon joined that effort.

At some point, the FBI and DNC started working together to fight the hack and investigate how it happened, but DNC was slow to react to the FBI’s initial warning that their server had been compromised.

If a country as rich and powerful as the US faces these problems, other poorer and most likely less industrialized countries face problems like this one on their day-to-day. How can you feel safe anymore if all your pertinent details on the web are only one click away by a hacker or a cybercriminal? The least you can do is to safeguard your own device and ensure all private information can only be accessed by you all the time. If you aren’t careful enough, you won’t only end up with lost data but with a broken device too. Once broken, getting your hard drive fixed, for instance, can cost a fortune. You’ll have to look for contractors that charge reasonably but have the facility and expertise needed to do the job right like http://www.harddriverecovery.org/clean_room.html and http://www.harddriverecovery.org/server-recovery/ because there are plenty of scammers littered across the web who are only out for your money.

Wednesday, 14 November 2018

Modern life afforded us with so many conveniences and luxuries. Things we have only dreamed about in the past are now realities we continue to enjoy at the present. Who would’ve thought we can do so much with a device that fits the palm of our hands? It sounds absurd right if you told it to your own self, say, 15-20 years ago. Yet, that is the reality we are living in now. We live differently from way back then but we somehow thrive off this new and much more virtual lifestyle except for at times sacrificing our health because of too much exposure to technological gadgets that emit harmful blue light and all. Unfortunately, this new lifestyle has opened us up to a new vulnerability and it continues to threaten us until today.

Ransomware was the talk of the town last year. These apps took the world by storm and left in their wake hundreds of thousands of losses and even crippled organizations for days on end. This type of malware is not new to us but it keeps on evolving with the passage of time. It becomes more damaging too as it spreads quickly and takes on different forms. How many people have been scammed already and the list is expected to grow with new versions of ransomware malwares coming out.

Paying the ransom does not even offer any assurance. Messages you may get from these criminals may actually appear to be coming from government agencies like the FBI in an attempt to intimidate you, but don’t be mistaken:

Ransomware scams may attack a computer near you soon, the FBI warned Monday.

The computer software is malicious. It secretly installs itself and encrypts files only to hold the data hostage in return for payment of a ransom.

Home and business, banking, academic and government computers can be impacted.

In recent cases, victims have paid anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Usually the computer screen freezes and a pop up message warns that the user has violated some federal law and the computer will remain locked until money is paid, the FBI warned.

These malwares no longer ask for just ransom anymore because some can be used in cryptocurrency mining like bitcoin and other alternative currencies. Fortunately, there are measures you can take to protect your device from these shady practices on the web if you are well-informed about these issues at all. Hence, it makes sense to back up your data if you want to spare yourself from all the hassles of data loss and paying a hefty price for it. If you find yourself in this difficult situation, these services may help https://www.harddriverecovery.org/raid-data-recovery.html and https://www.harddriverecovery.org/mac-data-recovery/ for reasonable prices but ensure the job is done 100% right.

An ever-evolving form of malware has added a new tactic which sees it choose to deliver ransomware or a cryptojacker depending on the circumstances of the infected victim.

If an infected computer contains a bitcoin wallet, the malware will install file-encrypting ransomware -- if there's no pre-existing cryptocurrency folder and the computer is capable of mining cryptocurrency, a miner will be downloaded and installed for the purposes of exploiting the PC's power to generate cryptocurrency.

Ransomware these days aren’t always just out for a ransom. There are bugs that can now hack your system and take advantage of its computing power in order to mine for cryptocurrencies. It’s already a known fact especially when these vicious virtual bugs don’t find any type of Bitcoin wallet in your system. An example of this malware is that of the Rakhni Trojan that has been causing problems since 2013. It is even more understandable now as the popularity of bitcoins and other digital currencies have skyrocketed and continues to gain public acceptance and support. Be especially wary of phishing emails because this is the most common trap that the public falls for. It is why anyone who uses or owns a computer must exercise extreme caution because threats are all over the web and don’t tell that you haven’t been warned when the unfortunate times comes you fall for it.

Wednesday, 7 November 2018

It is so amazing how one device can hold so much data all at the same time and still enable you to do more without compromising speed, performance, and efficiency. Modern computers are indeed lifesavers since they allow us to multitask and take advantage of every opportunity out there so we don’t get left behind by the competition. Over the past few years, individuals, businesses, and organizations alike have all made a concerted effort in centralizing everything to ensure that all important files can be accessed in a click of a button whenever the need for it arises.

Unfortunately, things aren’t always smooth sailing. As much as we love technology, it has flaws that aren’t just costly but can give you headaches for days, too. This is an entirely new territory for many of us. Only a few have advanced technical knowledge who are well-versed on the digital lingo and has an extensive understanding of the ins and out of most modern contrivances as well as the World Wide Web. The majority of us are innocent consumers who know so little that we end up just believing whatever we read or hear about. If you aren’t careful enough, you may find yourself worrying about getting a broken device fixed and lost data recovered.

Modern laptops can hold an amazing amount of data, including hundreds of thousands of files, hours of video, and thousands of photos. Given their storage capacity, it’s no surprise that millions of users treat their laptops as long-term storage devices. They see the machine’s still have an ample amount of free space, so they pack them full of work files and personal data. Even though the laptop is built with ample storage, it certainly is not built as an ideal storage container.

One spilled cup of Earl Grey, a drop down a flight of stairs, or even static electricity can all damage a laptop and the trove of data it contains. These machines are prone to damage and aren’t built to withstand drops or spills. Once they’re damaged, the data within is also often inaccessible, which poses a particular problem for those who store their entire digital lives on one machine.

As much as possible, it is better to back up data than have it recovered. For starters, there is no assurance that lost data can still be recovered. Add to that the fact that data recovery services are usually expensive. You have the option of submitting your device for data recovery service but learn to manage your expectations because some data are just lost forever. So before that happens, take advantage of technology as well to protect your most important files from oblivion. Back up your data on flash drives or external hard drives or other forms of data storage devices as well as the cloud. It may be time-consuming having to transfer files on a regular basis but it can save you a lot of trouble once the time comes that your device starts to fail or in case an online bug like malwares or ransomware infect your device and starts corrupting it.

What if all these attempts fail? Even in that case, your precious data may still be safe (unless the primary cause of your startup troubles is a damaged hard drive). Of course, in an ideal world, you won’t need to retrieve that data, because you’ve already backed up all your files. However, if you don't have available backups, then you’ll want to pull your data from your hard drive.

On the simplest level, you can remove the drive from your laptop or desktop and access it from another computer. For example, you could set it up as an external drive, but to do that, you’ll need an enclosure like the models from Inateck ($9 on Amazon) or Sabrent ($9 on Amazon). Just make sure to purchase an enclosure that matches the hard drive you're extracting from your old machine.

Once you have an enclosure, you'll need to power down your computer, remove the side or bottom panel, and disconnect the drive from its enclosure and cables. You’ll want to follow an online guide, which you can find by searching for your computer’s make and model along with the phrase “remove hard drive. If you're not exactly comfortable working on hardware, we recommend that you leave this task to a professional repair shop.

You don’t always need to panic whenever you encounter a problem with your computer. They may be bothersome and cause significant delays in your work and life but there are measures to address them. Not all the time the device can be salvaged and that is a major problem already but don’t let your precious data go down the drain too. Both hardware and software issues can pose a big threat to all the files stored in your device. If you want to spare yourself from all the difficulties of data loss, one of the first things you need to find out is the pricing because you have got to prepare your wallet first, right? Check out: https://www.harddriverecovery.org/pricing.html and https://www.harddriverecovery.org/raid-pricing.html, which will give you an idea about data recovery pricing that is very reasonable.